Chandigarh:

With the onset of festive season, Amazon India is bringing an extraordinary interactive experience to the heart of Chandigarh from September 14th to 18th. The “Amazon Festive Box”, a larger-than-life installation that celebrates Chandigarh’s vibrant spirit and culture through stunning art, while giving customers a fun way to engage with Amazon’s upcoming Great Indian Festival sale. At this one-of-a-kind activation, installed at the Bridge Market, Sector 17, the audience can “make a wish” and share what they would love to gift their loved ones. This initiative is a perfect blend of Chandigarh’s uniqueness and Amazon’s biggest annual celebration.

Amazon Business – the B2B store, completes 7 years in India

The festive season preparations also coincide with the 7th anniversary of Amazon Business, the B2B store of Amazon.in, in India. Since 2017, Amazon Business has been at the forefront of transformation for many Indian businesses. It has witnessed a huge growth outside of the metros, and including in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. In these regions, Amazon Business has seen a 200% YoY growth in customers.

Mitranjan Bhaduri, Director, Amazon Business, said “The festive period holds great significance not just for customers but also for businesses as they gear up for celebrating the season with their employees and partners. Be it sharing the festive excitement through gifting or redoing their office space, we have seen that this season is equally important for businesses. At Amazon Business, we recognize this unique opportunity. As we celebrate our 7th year in India, we’re committed more than ever to empowering businesses of all sizes in every corner of India. We’re dedicated to providing unparalleled support to our sellers and innovative solutions to our business customers. Our goal is to make this festive season truly memorable by innovating to provide unmatched selection, value and convenience.”

With added convenience like enabling multi-user accounts within same teams/organizations that has witnessed a 288% of YoY growth, ‘Bill-to-Ship to’ where customers can buy from one location and ship to another without compromising GST input credit. Recently, we launched the ‘Invoice by Amazon’ feature that helps customers consolidate invoicing from multiple sellers. Amazon Business has simplified procurement needs for MSMEs across the country, and thereby improving the business efficiency. Further underscoring the platform’s commitment to providing a seamless on-the-go shopping experience for business customers, 65% of overall orders on Amazon Business are now received from a mobile phone.

IPSOS study** reveals strong consumer enthusiasm for online festive shopping, Amazon.in emerges as preferred destination

Customers are enthusiastic for festive shopping upswing this year, revealed a study conducted by Ipsos Research Private Limited, commissioned by Amazon India**. 89% respondents expressed their excitement for the upcoming festivities with 71% indicating that they intend to shop online. Nearly 50% respondents said they intend to shop online and they would spend more on online festive shopping compared to last year. This trend cuts across metros (55%) and tier-2 cities (43% in cities with 10-40 lakh population).  The study also revealed Amazon.in as a preferred online shopping destination, with over 73% of respondents trusting Amazon for their festive needs. 75% associated Amazon with wide selection of products, 72% said that sellers on Amazon provide attractive deals, and 73% viewed it as a reliable and trustworthy online shopping destinations.

A long-range surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen struck an unpopulated area near Israel’s international airport outside Tel Aviv on Sunday, Israeli sources said.

The missile triggered sirens in Tel Aviv and other cities in central Israel, sending residents running to shelters during the morning rush hour, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Israeli military said in a statement that interceptors were launched but failed to shoot down the missile, which landed in an open area.

Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported that the missile fell in Kfar Daniel, about 6 km from Ben Gurion Airport. A fire broke out in the area.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s national rescue service, said five people were injured while running to shelters.

There were no changes to the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines for civilians.

The incident marks the second time a projectile from Yemen has reached central Israel, following a drone attack by Houthi forces in July that killed one person in Tel Aviv. AGENCIES

One person was killed and thousands were evacuated due to continuous rainfall in Poland, said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a press conference on Sunday.

By Sunday morning, 1,600 people had been evacuated from Klodzko, a town in southern Poland, due to severe flooding caused by continuous rainfall, Xinhua news agency reported.

Torrential rains have caused rivers to exceed alarming levels, especially in regions like Opole and Silesia.

The local water management authority in Wroclaw expects a flood peak on the Oder River in Wroclaw next Tuesday which will last for several days.

Tusk warned that delaying evacuation may pose a danger not only to citizens but also to the services that will have to carry out the evacuation later, in much more difficult conditions.

Polish Prime Minister taking to social media platform X, stated, “Now, all that matters is help for people threatened by flooding and state action. Those who can, let them help, those who can’t, do not hinder. Politics must give way to solidarity.”

People in the towns of Jarnoltowek and Pokrzywna in the region of Opole started to evacuate on Saturday with authorities warning that the situation could worsen.

The director of the Karkonosze National Park in southwestern Poland has decided to close all tourist trails in the park until further notice.

Hydrologic alerts have been extended to other regions, with infrastructure damage, road closures, and halted rail services reported. AGENCIES

The US State Department’s key diplomat Donald Lu has arrived in Dhaka to hold discussions with the interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus.

Lu, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, landed in Dhaka on Saturday noon after concluding his visit to Delhi, bdnews24 reported.

Upon his arrival at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport, he was greeted by Samia Israt Ronee, director of the North America division of the Foreign Ministry.

In a statement released on Saturday evening, the Ministry said Brandon Lynch, the assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia, is accompanying Lu.

To lead the delegation, Brent Neiman, assistant Treasury secretary for international finance, had already arrived in Dhaka on Saturday morning.

The US Embassy in Dhaka reported that Neiman had a meeting with a delegation from the American Chamber of Commerce, bdnews24 reported.

The delegation will meet Chief Advisor Yunus and discuss bilateral issues. They will also meet Finance and Commerce Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed.

Foreign Advisor Touhid Hossain said US Treasury and National Security Council officials will stay in Bangladesh longer than Lu.

He added the discussions will primarily focus on financial and trade matters, bdnews 24 reported.

Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin told reporters on Thursday, “I can only say that the arrival of the US delegation after the formation of the interim government reflects the importance the US places on its relationship with Bangladesh.”

He mentioned that the composition of the US delegation suggests a broad and multi-dimensional dialogue.

“It will not be limited to just a specific issue. In line with this, we are also preparing on our end. Our team will be similarly aligned,” he added.

The five-member US delegation was received on Saturday morning at Shahjalal International Airport by Khandaker Masudul Alam, Director General (North America) of the Foreign Ministry.

This high-level delegation marks the first such visit to Bangladesh since the formation of the interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on August 8.

The delegation includes officials from the US Department of State, the Treasury, the US Agency for International Development, and the Department of Commerce.

The Chief Advisor’s press wing confirmed that the delegation will meet Yunus at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday at the state guest house Jamuna.

A US State Department statement said Lu will be part of a US delegation holding meetings with the Bangladeshi interim government.

Lu will also visit India during the September 10-16 trip.

“US and Bangladeshi officials will discuss how the US can support Bangladesh’s economic growth, financial stability and development needs,” the statement said.

AGENCIES

From a military perspective, Ukrainians should not be restricted in using delivered weapons, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Military Committee Chair Rob Bauer said.

Speaking after a meeting of the NATO Military Committee in Prague, Bauer said lifting the restrictions on the use of supplied weapons to Ukraine would be logical from a military point of view, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, he noted that countries providing these weapons to Ukraine have the right to limit individual weapons, adding that there is a political discussion.

According to the Czech News Agency, debates on restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine are taking place at various levels. Italy introduced them, while countries such as the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Netherlands do not set any conditions for the use of weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that by providing Ukraine with long-range weapons, Western countries risk involving directly in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In such circumstances, Russia would be forced to make “appropriate decisions” based on the new threats, Putin was quoted by Russian media as saying.

According to Western media reports, Ukraine has been pleading with its Western allies for it to use their missiles, including long-range ones, to fire deep into Russian territory. AGENCIES

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) does not expect to resume talks with the US regarding a multi-billion dollar deal to acquire F-35 fighter jets, irrespective of who wins the upcoming US presidential election in November, a senior UAE government official said.

A leading media outlet reported on Friday that the UAE was planning to resume negotiations to purchase F-35s and armed drones if Donald Trump wins a second presidential term, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Trump had signed off on a deal to allow the purchase to go ahead in the final days of his presidency in 2021, but the UAE suspended talks at the end of that year, unable to agree terms with the current Biden administration.

The UAE has long sought the most advanced fighter jet, built with stealth technology allowing it to evade enemy detection.

If the US did approve the transfer, the UAE would be only the second Middle East state, after Israel, to operate F-35s.

The UAE official said on Saturday the same factors that caused it to suspend the talks in 2021 have not changed and the government does not plan to re-open negotiations.

“Technical requirements, sovereign operational restrictions and cost/benefit analysis led to the reassessment at that time, and those considerations underpin our ongoing position.”

The official did not comment on the possibility of fresh talks to purchase armed drones. AGENCIES

Two Jordanian citizens kidnapped in Syria have been safely returned to Jordan after more than two weeks in captivity, the country’s Foreign Ministry said.

The Ministry said on Saturday in a statement that Syrian authorities secured the release and transfer of the two individuals, who are in good health.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Sufian Qudah expressed gratitude for Syria’s cooperation in freeing the captives and facilitating their return through official channels.

Qudah said the Ministry, through its Directorate of Operations and Consular Affairs and the Jordanian Embassy in Damascus, had been in constant contact with Syrian authorities since the kidnapping was reported.

The Ministry did not provide details about the circumstances of the kidnapping or the identities of the victims.

Jordan and Syria have been working to improve relations in recent years after a decade of tension due to Syria’s civil war.

The Jordanian citizens are Maher al-Soufi and Mohammad Owaida, both drivers, who went missing after delivering goods from Amman to Damascus and were on their way back, according to the Jordanian website Roya News.

Cases of kidnapping, disappearance, and arrest of Jordanians in Syria have been active since the opening of the border crossing between Syria and Jordan and the resumption of relations between the two parties in October 2018, followed by the entry of Jordanians into Syria for various reasons, including tourism and shopping.

The Jordanian and Syrian sides officially reopened the Nassib border crossing on October 15, 2018, after three years of closure due to military events, allowing Jordanian citizens to visit Syria.

In July 2023, young Ali al-Fityani and his friend disappeared in Damascus, and his father pleaded with the concerned authorities in Syria and Jordan to provide assistance and find out his son’s fate.

Jordan retrieved one of its citizens kidnapped by unknown individuals in As-Suwayda province in southern Syria in August 2019.

In May of the same year, Jordan retrieved two kidnapped citizens after the security services of the regime released them.

The Syrian regime released seven detained Jordanians in April 2020, after a request from the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The release came months after the Syrian Embassy in Jordan received a list of the names of Jordanian detainees in the regime’s prisons, from which some were later released.

Some Jordanians detained by the regime’s apparatuses are wanted by the Syrian intelligence on various charges, which the Jordanian authorities have repeatedly confirmed, calling for the disclosure of their citizens’ fate and their release. AGENCIES

Turkish Police have apprehended a suspect believed to have orchestrated a January attack on a church in Istanbul, local media reported.

The Ihlas News Agency said on Saturday that the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) and the General Directorate of Security conducted a joint operation in Istanbul to capture Viskhan Soltamatov, a suspected member of the Islamic State (IS).

According to the agency, Soltamatov was involved in planning the assault on the Santa Maria Italian Church and was responsible for supplying the weapon used.

The attack, which occurred on January 28 during prayer in the Sariyer district, resulted in the death of a Turkish citizen, Xinhua news agency reported.

Intelligence and risk analyses by MIT revealed that Soltamatov was operating in Turkey under the IS — Khorasan Province, an IS affiliate based in Afghanistan. His nationality remains unclear.

Turkish Police had previously arrested 31 suspects linked to the attack, and the investigation continues.

One Turkish citizen was killed by two IS gunmen at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul in January 2024.

The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had previously charged 42 suspects, including Tajik national Amirjon Kholiqov and Russian citizen David Tanduev, with planning the attack. However, initial indictments were returned due to procedural deficiencies. The prosecution has appealed the decision, urging the court to approve the charges after addressing the procedural issues.

Turkey has designated IS as a terrorist group since 2013, and the organisation has claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks in the country, prompting frequent operations against its members.

AGENCIES